Southwark Council grants planning permission for Science Gallery London

We are delighted to announce that King’s College London has been granted planning permission by Southwark Council to create Science Gallery London on Guy’s Campus in the heart of London Bridge.

Science Gallery London will be created on a prestigious site at the foot of the Shard and opposite London Bridge Station within Boland House, one of the wings of the 18th century historic Guy’s Hospital on St Thomas' Street.

The Gallery will include flexible exhibition, studio and performance spaces, a theatre with retractable seating, a 100 cover café, a shop and a newly restored Georgian courtyard to be enjoyed by the Guy’s campus communities, local residents and workers as well as members of the public visiting the Science Gallery.

The Science Gallery London building project is due to start in spring 2016, with the gallery opening in autumn 2017.

Speaking about the successful planning application, Deborah Bull, Assistant Principal, King’s College London said, ‘I am delighted that planning permission has been granted and we can now move ahead with our ambitious plans to create Science Gallery at King's College London. The Gallery will create new opportunities for our students and academics and will engage a broader public with the university's cutting-edge research through collaborations with artists, designers and cultural organisations. It will also be a unique and original addition to the vibrant London Bridge area - a focal point for building new connections that will help to ensure King's is relevant to, and part of, the communities around us.’

Dr Daniel Glaser, Director of Science Gallery London said, ‘Science Gallery at King’s College London will give us a completely new way to connect audiences with science, art and innovation. The Gallery will be a live space where scientific themes and ideas will be explored and debated through the lens of culture. With our model of a regularly-changing and locally-driven programme, we hope to see visitors return frequently to enjoy the free space and participate in live events.’

As part of the planning process, King's College London conducted a period of consultation in July 2015. Plans, scale models and architect’s images for the project were displayed on Guy's Campus and over 170 pieces of formal feedback were collected from staff, students, local businesses, residents and community groups. The vast majority of feedback was supportive of the project and the process helped King’s engage with many of the communities who will directly benefit from Science Gallery London.

£12million of the capital cost of Science Gallery London has been raised from external sources with major awards from Wellcome Trust (£3million), Guy's and St Thomas' Charity (£4million) and Shard Funding Ltd. (£5million). Science Gallery London's commercial activity will help to provide operational income after opening.

For more information, please contact Oliver Stannard, Marketing and Communications Manager, King's College London, at oliver.stannard@kcl.ac.uk or on 020 7848 1320.

Science Gallery London is part of the Global Science Gallery Network, which aims to build a collaborative peer network of eight galleries by 2020 in partnership with research universities in leading cities of technological and cultural innovation around the world, engaging and inspiring an audience of up to three million local visitors worldwide annually, and reaching millions more curious minds through media and marketing activity.

December 1, 2015